New 2024 Cub Cadet Ultima ZTXS5 54

[jyoutz]

I have this one from HF

https://www.harborfreight.com/750-lb-heavy-duty-atvmower-high-lift-jack-63298.html

I like it, but it takes up a TON of floor space when not being used. Decided to remove the handle and just move it around by picking it up from the end of the forks. For storage it stands upright very well without the handle on it by placing a 2x4 block under the frame.

Would not want to have a ZTR without a lift like this.

I have a chain hoist on a truss in my barn. I hoist up the front and the ZTM pivots on the rear wheels. Just enough to get under the deck and remove the blade for sharpening.

 

[5030]

Not something I need. I just use the forks on the loader on one of the Kubota's to lift them. My wife has a steering wheel ZTR as well and she swears by it. Bought it lightly used from my Kubota dealer who also sells CC, paid a grand for it. Has a Kohler on it, not a Kawalski.

 

[drumminj]

Sadly I don't have any re-inforced trusses in my shop I'd feel comfortable using to lift anything heavy. @5030 what are safe spots you've found on your wife's CC to lift the front? It's hard to know what's solid under there with the steering linkage.

Home Depot has a lift on clearance for $190 (MoJack HDL 500 Lawn Mower Lift 45501 - The Home Depot) but after reading a few negative reviews I'm wondering if just using ramps would get it off the ground enough to get the blades off.

 

[5030]

@5030 what are safe spots you've found on your wife's CC to lift the front?

Wood blocks under the front axle being careful not to get the forks under the steering linkage. Really not that heavy in the front anyway.

 

[Runner]

Spring 2025 update: Mowed for the first time this year yesterday with the reduced tire pressures with interesting results. As a recap, the sidewall tire pressures are listed as 28 front and 20 rear. The ride at these pressures was punishing. I changed them to 10 and 15, respectively to try and improve the ride. After playing with it a little, I decided 10 on the front was too low because it made the steering heavy.

So for yesterday, I set the tires at 15 for both front and rear. The result was that the ride was indeed smoother, i.e., it went from a sharp jounce to floaty bounces. However, the bounces amplified the tendency for me to bounce off the seat, resulting in at least 5 instances of having to reset the PTO due to auto shut-off. This is pushing me towards disabling the seat switch system entirely. Don't want to do it because I think it is a good safety feature, but it is just too sensitive....

The unit is still dripping oil. I put cardboard under it to keep the floor clean and another layer of cardboard above the level of the drives, but below the pulleys, just to make sure the oil is coming from the engine (which it is).

I have pretty much isolated the source of the leak to the adapter fitting between the oil drain hose and the sump. The hose fitting has some type of thread sealer on it, but the adapter fitting does not. As mentioned previously, I can't get a wrench on the adapter fitting, so my plan is to wait until I change oil in June. At that time, while all the oil is out, I will remove the drain hose and the adapter fitting, then reinstall with some Permatex thread sealer. Wish me luck on that....

Other than the oil leak, the machine is still running great and delivering a nice looking cut.

 

[drumminj]

I did my first mow a couple of days ago - just a quick one while we had a break in the rain. Seat sensor didn't trigger once!

Ordered some Gator G5 blades to try as replacements -- should get here this week so curious to see how mowing this weekend goes with that.

 

[Carl_NH]

We are 3 weeks away from mowing season in NH. Looking at that drain hose that does not look like what they spec for the FS730V engine - I looked at several and they have an O-ring on the engine end and a thumbscrew with oring on the drain end. Here's a link to the hose on Amazon Amazon.com

 

[Runner]

We are 3 weeks away from mowing season in NH. Looking at that drain hose that does not look like what they spec for the FS730V engine - I looked at several and they have an O-ring on the engine end and a thumbscrew with oring on the drain end. Here's a link to the hose on Amazon Amazon.com

The drain hose on my machine does match what is shown in the manual for the ZTXS5 54. You can't see it in the picture, but the drain end of the hose is just a square-headed pipe plug.

Your post brings up good point, i.e., that maybe there is an o-ring in the hole where the adapter fitting screws in, which would explain why there is no thread sealant showing. If so, could be that the o-ring was damaged during installation and the source of the leak. All will be revealed soon....

 

[Runner]

Second mowing of the season today. After getting bounced off the seat enough to activate the PTO cut-off three or four times, I'd had enough and did the plug mod to defeat the "feature".

For those unfamiliar, on MTD products there is a little "buss bar" inside the green plug where the wire attaches to the bottom of the seat. Just pull out the buss bar and reattach the plug to the seat and, presto, no more PTO cut-out.

Also removed the front-mounted counterweight because I think it is making the steering heavier and I won't be using the bagger for a while.

Other than those things, still running and cutting great...

Even the oil leak seems to have slowed down...hope that doesn't mean it's dry...

 

[drumminj]

Glad to hear you found a solution. Do you have a video or list of steps you can link to on how to disable it?

I put on the gator blades the other day but haven't had a chance to mow with them yet (probably tomorrow). Man, I had to use a 3' breaker bar to get the spindle nuts loose, and on 2 of the three needed a wrench on the head of the spindle nut to stop from just turning the spindle with it!

Think you'll ever consider adding the extra suspension to the seat?